Rebuilding Sharswood: Decade of Neighborhood Transformation in Philadelphia

Philadelphia's Sharswood community is ready to herald in a new era. After decades of disinvestment and concentrated poverty, the neighborhood’s reputation was dangerous and hostile. Once a hub of African American arts, theater, and activism, its vibrant commercial and housing markets were replaced with crime and blight. Businesses and institutional partners abandoned Sharswood and the neighborhood’s two main public schools closed.

In 2013, the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) embarked on a planning process funded by HUD’s Choice Neighborhoods Initiative to develop a resident-driven transformation plan that leveraged experience from implementing nearby North Central Choice.

Fast forward a decade and Sharswood is unrecognizable. For example:
* The Stephen Klein Wellness Center is countering the troubling social determinants of health;
* Newly constructed units promote home ownership and build wealth;
* By leveraging the mayor’s Rebuild initiative, millions were invested in recreation centers and a library;
* Abandoned schools came back to life;
* New parks and affordable housing rose out of vacant lots;
* A new grocery store opened in what had been a food desert; and
* When businesses were fleeing the neighborhood, PHA invested in its new headquarters.

Realize the limitations of siloed approaches to neighborhood transformation and learn the value of long-lasting partnerships. See at first hand that neighborhood inequities and racial injustices take time and drive to repair. Discover creative financing mechanisms for much-needed housing, commercial, and infrastructure investments.